Ammo thoughts

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germansheperd

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Just sitting here thinking. So one of the biggest reasons you hear there is no ammo is because of 'new shooters'.
Ok then why is it every store you go to people behind the counter are always complaining about the 'old guys' being there when they open and following delivery trucks. Boomers are buying everything they can. When you go to the gun show- old guys with the ammo for sale.
You hear about 'new shooters' but when you go to the range you hardly see anyone 'new'. Mostly old farts with multiple guns.
Ammunition companies are making more ammo than ever- they say. You go to their websites to buy direct. Hardly a round available from them let alone in stores. Remington ammo/Federal/CCI all owned by the same company working 'around the clock- 3 shifts' and can't find a cartridge.
Things that make me say "HMMM". I think its all smoke and mirrors. This is a total conspiracy and they are just dealing out excuses.
I still haven't met a 'new shooter'.
 
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In my opinion, It's a 3-fold issue...

Hoarders: People that think that since firearms are protected by the 2nd, and ammunition is not, the government is going to try to outlaw ammo, and, I better buy all I can find...

Resellers: Enough said... Some people would sell .22 LR ammo to their mother for the rock-bottom price of $5.00 a round...

New Shooters: Depending on the story you read, there were somewhere between 5,000,000 and 10,000,000 new firearm owners last year... If each of them wants a few boxes of FMJ to practice with, and a box of JHP for protection, that's 15,000,000 to 30,000,000 boxes of ammo that no one in 2019 could foresee bumping up production for...
 
I have no idea whether or not there is a conspiracy, but we certainly don't need one to be short on ammo. There ARE new shooters. It happens that I have seen some, although they are allowed to buy ammo even in MA without showing me their faces. Whether the OP has seen them has almost nothing to do with whether they are buying ammo.

Once it starts, the hoarding starts (not that I am against hoarding). AFAIK, we did not have a bunch of new shooters when the TP shortage started. Was that also a conspiracy?
 
I myself as an instructor can tell you there are new shooters, true some of them bought a gun, shot it, put in in a drawer and now they are safe in their own mind. then there are the others ones that want to be a responsible gun owner and they want to hit what they shoot at, they are burning ammo at any cost.
 
there is plenty of ammo and primers for sale right now, but you are going to pay for it (thank the flippers/scalpers)

go to ammoseek dot com to help you find where its at
 
Model520Fan said:
AFAIK, we did not have a bunch of new shooters when the TP shortage started. Was that also a conspiracy?
Click to expand...

No... But, we potentially had a bunch of new wipers...

For the record, I have no issue with "Hoarding" ammunition... Like many others here, I am sitting on several thousand rounds... I purchased a bulk this when the buying was good for the 2017-2019 timeframe... I have not bought a box of ammo since this headache started last year...

ETA: I did buy 5 boxes of .22 Magnum about a month ago... I was out...
 
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Maybe because Winter is the shooting season around here, every time I've gone shooting there are multiple new shooters on the line. Since there are no nonsense RSO's and one or two experienced shooters guiding the group, I've only felt the need to pack up early in over abundance of caution. And that was only due to numbers not danger. I'm more amazed at the numbers of rounds they can send down range without a care. Joe
 
Yes, I've seen a lot of new first-time gun buyers, and more than a few I've known whom I would never have expected. But from what I see now it's no longer about the "new shooters", but rather more about the established shooters worry-buying what they can when they can even if they don't need it. These are the ones who preface every conversation about ammo with "I'm worried about...".

Add into that the "flippers" who are looking to lay in a stock of ammo in hopes of steadily increasing prices so they can cash in on the next batch of panic-buyers. Part of me says "Gotta love capitalism", but the other part says "I hope they get burned!" :mad:
 
Was working the Dallas Mkt hall gun show last weekend. No shortage of ammo. Lots of it but priced at $1.00+ per round. Went by cabelas on Friday this past week. Nothing on the shelves. Do the math. I started reloading in the late 70's and can reload every center fire I have. Glad I don't have to join the fray.
 
A lot of LGS around me have ammo on the shelf. I picked up several boxes of 12 gage to shoot SC for less that 9 a box Saturday, My son picked up several boxes of 20 gage for 7.50 a box today at another place across the state. Target 22LR appears to be not that plentiful, but it is there if you know where to look. Hey, I am a revolver guy, I do not need any 9mm ammo.
 
A few years ago there was a study that said half the guns in the US were owned by 7.7 million people, 3% of the US adult population and about 12% of gun owners. This group had a minimum of 8 guns and an average of 17.

I suspect the same is true of ammo. A small group is buying and holding a lot of ammo.

That small group must have a lot of people that are using ammo as a lead and brass security blanket. When watching riots on TV sitting on crates of over priced ammo could be comforting.

Most people I know that buy their first gun strictly for security go through a few boxes at the range right after they get it and then the gun rarely gets shot after that. The club I shoot is a little less busy but but not by much. The club is members only and expensive to join so not many new gun owners shoot there. But I doubt they are shooting ammo they bought at today's prices.

I haven't seen anyone admit to buying cases of ammo at 4 times what it was selling for 18 months ago. not even online. But somebody is. I am really curious why. A new shooter buying a few boxes I can see. I shooter that didn't stock up buying a few boxes for a match I can see. But buying cases and cases and not shooting any of it? I don't get it.
 
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I don't care what anybody says ammo is not being produced in the quantity they claim or its being bought off by Government agencies.
We are just talking about .22 here. What about all the handgun ammo, hunting ammo? Still say not being made and a conspiracy.
Are these new shooters hoarding all the .270, .30-06, 44 mag?
 
germansheperd said:
...
Are these new shooters hoarding all the .270, .30-06, 44 mag?
Click to expand...
Consider what happens when the average person who buys ammo for recreational shooting or hunting decides he should have an extra half-dozen boxes ahead of the next hunting season or the next summer trip to their favorite outdoor range. I have friends who plan their vacations months in advance, and schedule around those trips, kids holidays, etc. Some select campgrounds based on proximity to a good outdoor range, just like other people pick hotels close to their favorite hiking spot, or favorite ski hill. The cost of those recreational trips is not in a few boxes of ammo, but in the travel, accommodations, food, etc. Spending 2~3 times normal prices on ammo is a drop in the bucket, and most of them do not keep thousands of rounds in their basement, and they definitely don't spend their time off reloading. If the shooting community loses those people because they get fed up, it does not bode well for the rest of us.
 
Once more: IT'S A FAKE SHORTAGE.... DON'T BUY

If you run out of ammo: DON'T SHOOT..... DISCIPLINE

IMHO again,
J.
 
People hoarding thinking they have to amass enough ammo to last the rest of their lives, the scalpers seeing an opportunity to make big bucks and the new gun buyers and new reloaders have created a perfect storm to mty the shelves and keep them mty.....reminds me I need to throw some loads.
 
Ammo versus toilet paper

I know a gentleman who is a 'gun enthusiast'. A year ago he bought a PALLET of toilet paper. I think he is buying ammo in a similar fashion.

He has a pole barn so storage isn't an issue. I simply give this information as a single data point in the discussion.
 
Well the FBI conducted a all time record high of 39.7 million background checks in 2020 so either a lot of people are buying guns for the first time or a few gunowners are buying a lot of guns. Regardless of which conspiracy theory you want to believe those guns need ammunition.

Now that the DOD is acknowledging that UFO's exist I think it is aliens buying the guns and ammunition probably in preparation to taking over our country.
 
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